Coulon, Alphonse | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

COULON, Alphonse (fl. 1855-61) worked in France where he was 'an ancient scholar of the Central School of Arts & Manufacturers of Paris' and claimed to have 'superintended the construction of several canals and railways in France' (Globe [Toronto], 6 Sept. 1855, 3, advert.). He opened an office in Toronto in 1855 and the following year submitted an entry in the competition for the Market House in Guelph, Ont. (Tri-Weekly Advertiser [Guelph], 6 June 1856, 2). His scheme was passed over in favour of the winning submission by William Thomas. In 1857 he was commissioned by the Board of Works for Lower Canada to undertake major alterations of the High School, Belmont Street, MONTREAL, QUE., in order to create a new home for the McGill Normal School. He also supervised the renovation of Old Government House, Jacques Cartier Square, MONTREAL, QUE., for the new Jacques Cartier Normal School (Journal of Education for Lower Canada, i, Feb. 1857, 14; March 1857, 32, 51). In 1861 he was appointed Drawing Master at the Normal School for Upper Canada College, Toronto, and made weekly trips to Hamilton to teach that subject there (Spectator [Hamilton], 7 Dec. 1861).